Battle of Shrewsbury

The Battle of Shrewsbury was a battled fought on 21 July 1403 between the armies of the Lancastrian king Henry IV of England and a rebel army led by Henry Percy. The battle was the first in which English archers fought against each other on English soil, and it resulted in a decisive victory for the Royalists, who slew Percy and crushed his uprising.

The House of Percy had been motivated to join the Welsh prince Owain Glyndwr's uprising against King Henry by King Henry's repeated insults against the family (not paying them for defending the Scottish border, forcing them to hand over their Scottish prisoners without ransom, giving lands promised to them to rival lords, and refusing to pay Henry Percy's brother-in-law Edmund Mortimer's ransom. The Percys had widespread support in Cheshire, but they failed to receive reinforcements from Glyndwr, who was unaware that the Percys had risen. Instead, the Percys were forced to face a slightly larger Royalist army at Shrewsbury.

The battle began with a massive barrage of arrows, with the Percys' Cheshire bowmen being superior to the royalists' men. Edmund Stafford, 5th Earl of Stafford was slain, and the right wing of the royalist army was forced to flee, as were other sections of the army. Prince Henry, King Henry's son, was shot in the face by an arrow, but he was treated with honey and alcohol, leaving a scar on his face. Later, Archibald Douglas, 4th Earl of Douglas slew royal standard bearer Walter Blount, believing him to be the king. Percy's men believed that they had killed the king, and the battle was clearly in their favor. However, Percy was struck in the face by an arrow after lifting his visor to view the battlefield, and he was killed instantly. The tide turned with his death, and, when Percy's men shouted, "Henry Percy king!," the living King Henry IV responded with, "Henry Percy is dead." The lack of a reply demoralized Percy's men, and many did not know who had won until Percy's men surrendered or retreated. The royalists had suffered heavy losses, but the Percy rebellion had been crushed.